Spanish egaming GGR could reach 250m in 2013, industry group claims
Dot.es market report from JDigital suggests 10% month-on-month revenue growth will continue throughout this year.
Spanish egaming body JDigital estimates that gross gaming revenue generated by Spanish-facing operators in 2013 could reach 250m.
The association, which counts Betfair, Paf and PokerStars among its members, also suggests advertising spend in the dot.es market has risen 38% from 90m in 2011 to 125m since the country’s regulator issued its first egaming licences in June 2012. These projections do not account for the introduction of new products, with slots and new bingo variants potentially on the horizon.
Since the first licences were issued the market has generated 88m in GGR during the second half of last year, however JDigital’s estimates take into account 10% month-on-month growth seen in 2012 continuing this year.
The group explained in a statement: “Based on the estimated data about ad spending and revenues of operators, the association interprets the increase in advertising spending as a positive development that creates value and benefits of economic activity from other business sectors.
“However, investment in online gambling operators in communication and advertising, combined with high taxes, means that companies cannot yet achieve acceptable performance limits to keep the business in the country,” it added.
Particularly in poker, and to a lesser extent in other verticals, a minority of operators are claiming the lion’s share of the market.
Indeed, certain operators whose networks trail market-leaders PokerStars, 888 and bwin.party (the top three for poker liquidity in Spain according to Pokerscout) have gone as far as admitting the network model in Spain is failing, while Paf has suspended its dot.es poker room until conditions improve.
JDigital adds: “This reference is of interest, given that poker is the preferred method of online gambling for players in Spain.”
Local operators have struggled to get off the ground, with today’s full-year results from Codere including no figures from an online division believed not to have launched despite significant efforts devoted to it.
Other traditional Spanish businesses have invested more in marketing, such as Cirsa with its sponsorship of football club Real Betis, however these operators and others still face a challenge to compete with egaming companies bringing their experience of the dot.com market into their Spanish activities.